4 Ways to Study Less and Know Everything
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INTELLIGENT READING
Before really studying, one must begin by giving a patronizing reading to the text, reading the index, understanding broadly how the information is organized in the various paragraphs or chapters, scrolling through a few paragraphs, etc. At this point we already know what awaits us and we are able to plan the actual study: how many pages to "grind"? What is already known about the subject? The time dedicated to this is not lost: the more you actively think about the subject, the less effort you will have to memorize it.
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SUMMARIZE, UNDERLINE AND TAKE NOTE
Entire books have been written on the subject you need to: underline and take notes this is the technique of mind maps (a very “visual” system to summarize a topic in a glance). The purpose of these technique is to help the brain organize information, synthesize it and encode it so that even on a visual level it is easier to "get it out" at the right time. For many, it is enough to have underlined the key passages of a text and perhaps to have brought the concepts that summarize the content into memory; others need to write a summary scheme in a separate notebook, which is then used in the repetition phase to "hook up" the other information to be explained in a more elaborative way.
Repeat once or twice and then a quick review in the evening or morning is usually enough. The brain will store it forever in the so-called "long-term memory".
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THE POWER OF MOTIVATION
But efforts are only useful if there is "motivation": interest in the subject or for study in general and a curious and participatory attitude towards knowledge. But if the subject is "unpleasant" and appears incomprehensible (physics and mathematics, for example, often have this effect because they are very abstract), one must be able to rely on external motivations: the pride of obtaining a good grade, the expectations of parents, the awareness that more can be done. In short, in one way or another it is important to give an "emotional connotation" to the information to be studied.
The motivation to study can be cultivated and not only at school, but also in the family: if the parents stimulate the child to "explore" within himself, through reflection or carrying out intellectual activities that satisfy his curiosity, they have a good chance to cultivate an intelligent and motivated child. Provided that he was the first to set a good example. Listening to music, reading with passion, seeing a film or an exhibition together and then talking about it is positive and the ideal way of motivation.
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A BOOST TO MEMORY
Before a difficult exam, however, some memorization techniques can be helpful. Having to choose between the different methods available, the most effective is undoubtedly the loci technique.
It is also the most ancient method, the method of loci originally goes back to the use of imagery by the poet Simonides (c.556-c.468 B.C.). It takes a couple of hours to get hold of, but roughly it works like this.
Suppose we have to study a historical period, for example the Second World War. Let's isolate the keywords and put them in chronological order. 1 September 1939: Germany-Poland; September 3, 1939: England and France; 1940: Italy enters the war; June 22, 1941: Barbarossa operation; December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor; February 1943: Stalingrad; 8 September 1943: armistice; June 6, 1944: landing in Normandy; August 6, 1945: Hiroshima.
Then let's transform them into mental images along a path we know well (the rooms of your apartment, the journey from home to school, etc.). The method requires some initial effort but then it is really works. This and other methods mentioned above are tools that help to remember, and the ability to process and retain information can be increased indefinitely. Today by intelligence we mean speed of thought and synthesis. Slower people find it harder to study. The ideal would be to be able to act on this. In the scientific world there is great interest in memory enhancement and researches have been going on to speed up and refine the working memory mechanism, or the ability to eliminate superfluous information.
I will be wrapping it up here watch out for my post. Thanks for reading!!